SUS Awarded $3.75M To Help The Homeless

Avatar
Published on October 23, 2009, 12:11 pm
FavoriteLoadingAdd to favorites 3 mins

Services for the UnderServed (SUS) has been awarded two separate multi-year federal grant awards from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) totaling $3.75 million.

Peer to Peer counseling program graduates.

SUS' newest facility, Mother Gaston.

Both grants support Wellness Works (an SUS initiative that integrates two evidence based practices – Wellness Self-Management and Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment).

A $2 million grant will help to expand Wellness Works into SUS’ permanent supportive housing for people in recovery of mental illness. The second $1.75 million grant will support the introduction of Wellness Works at SUS’ transitional supportive housing programs for people living with AIDS. Both grants are for a period of five years.

“Homelessness is often rooted in underlying mental health conditions and other factors that may require a multifaceted approach,” said SAMHSA Acting Administrator Eric Broderick, DDS, M.P.H. Wellness Works will expand, strengthen, and fully integrate treatment for persons who are homeless and have multiple co-morbidities, including mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and health issues including HIV/AIDS. “This new approach to service delivery will enable individuals to better integrate into the community, secure and maintain housing, and achieve their recovery goals,” said Donna Colonna, CEO of Services for the UnderServed.

SUS is privileged to be among 75 organizations nationwide awarded nearly $124.5 million. These innovative projects will be implemented at SUS’ permanent supportive housing for individuals with mental illness and transitional housing programs for individuals with AIDS. “This funding provides the additional help needed to help otherwise chronically homeless individuals and families retain permanent housing and build more stable lives,” adds Broderick. 

SUS is a non-profit organization that provides housing and supportive services to New Yorkers with special needs to live with dignity in the community, direct their own lives and attain personal fulfillment. Founded in 1978, SUS serves over 4,000 of the most vulnerable among us — individuals with special needs due to a developmental, mental or physical disability often compounded by poverty, homelessness, inadequate education, substance abuse or a history of institutionalization.

About SUS

Founded in 1978, SUS has gained a reputation for helping individuals and families faced with a wide range of challenges—including mental illness, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, AIDS, homelessness, unemployment and poverty. With a staff of 1,600, SUS provides housing and support services to over 3,700 individuals in some 30 neighborhoods throughout New York City and on Long Island. For more information, visit here or the SUS blog at here.

 

Avatar
Jonas Bronck is the pseudonym under which we publish and manage the content and operations of The Bronx Daily.™ | Bronx.com - the largest daily news publication in the borough of "the" Bronx with over 1.5 million annual readers. Publishing under the alias Jonas Bronck is our humble way of paying tribute to the person, whose name lives on in the name of our beloved borough.